The Strategic Bombing Campaign Against Germany

Over the course of the Second World War, the Allied strategic bombing campaign against Germany grew into one of the largest aerial efforts in history. American and British air forces flew well over a million bomber sorties and dropped millions of tons of bombs on German industry, transportation, and cities.

The campaign came at a staggering cost in men and machines. Tens of thousands of American and British airmen lost their lives, and the two nations together lost many thousands of aircraft to German fighters and anti-aircraft fire. The round-the-clock offensive, with American forces bombing by day and the British by night, subjected Germany to relentless pressure.

The bombing devastated German cities, destroyed millions of dwellings, and progressively crippled the Reich's war production, fuel supply, and transportation network. While historians continue to debate the campaign's efficiency and its moral dimensions, there is little doubt that the sustained air offensive diverted enormous German resources to defense and contributed materially to the eventual Allied victory.